The Mystic Falls
by Riana Salvatore
Summary: Kaitlin Cooper moves to Mystic Falls to live with her father and there she happens to meet an older guy that takes her breath away and might try to take more. Damon/OC (As in a character from the OC)
1. Chapter 1

I'm not sure why I had agreed to do this. I don't know why I had agreed to travel across the country. I mean yeah I wanted to spend time with my dad, but a year in Virginia? I think it was half punishment for me getting kicked out of Harbor. I got caught smoking on school grounds. It turns that the school has a zero tolerance when it comes to drugs. I should have made a fake prescription. I hope there was somewhere that I would be able to find some. I guess I could quit since I seemed to be the only person on the planet who was unaffected by cannabis. I kept trying to get high, but I never could. I never have an increased appetite or lightheadedness or any of the other effects.

I took the taxi from the airport to my dad's house. He had taken a job as a bank manager. I hoped that he wasn't going to make some of the mistakes that he did in the past that caused us to lose all of our money. My family lost all our money a few times. I'm just glad that we continued to get it back.

"Hi Daddy." I greeted him.

"So are you feeling okay? We are three hours ahead of California, so it may take some getting used to." He stated.

"I know, Dad." I told him.

"Well you may want to go to bed early tonight because it might feel like you're waking up at 4:00 to go to school." He explained. "Do you think you want to go out for dinner tonight?"

So another thing about the move was that my mom agreed to pay child support for the year that I was staying with him. He had paid her when I was in Newport, so it was only fair.

"Sure." I agreed. My dad was not the best cook and I kind of felt like going out and meeting people. I needed to make my mark on this town. It seemed like it would be pretty dull where nothing ever happens. I just hope that the parties are nice. "Where are we going?"

"Well there's only one restaurant in town." He replied. I guess it was one of those towns. I guess it could have been worse. We could be in a middle of nowhere place with more cows than people.

We went to this place called Mystic Grill. That is not a very original name. I walked inside and it was a pretty standard restaurant. There didn't seem to be a host and we were supposed to seat ourselves apparently. It wasn't that busy I guess.

After we were seated, I noticed a woman in a sheriff's uniform walking over to us. I hope he wasn't in trouble again.

"Hi Liz." He greeted her.

"It's good to see you again, Jimmy." Liz responded. "Who's this?"

"This is my daughter Kaitlin." He introduced. "And this is Liz Forbes, the sheriff."

"It's nice to meet you." I declared. I figured it would be a good idea to get on her good side. It seemed like my dad was.

"It's nice to meet you too." She replied. I then noticed a group of girls around my age. I looked at my dad. He gave me a nod. I walked to the group consisting of a blonde, brunette, and African-American.

"Hi." I greeted them. "I'm Kaitlin Cooper. I'm new in town so I thought I would introduce myself."

"You must be Jimmy Cooper's daughter." The blonde said. "I heard you were coming here. I'm Caroline and this is Elena and Bonnie."

"Nice to meet you." I replied. "So is anything exciting going on?"

"Nope, not much right now." Elena, the brunette replied. "Nothing really ever happens except for a few parties. There's going to be one a few nights from now."

"Didn't your parents want to do some sort of family night on that night?" Bonnie asked her.

"You have to find a good way around that." Caroline declared.

"Well maybe I'll see you there." I replied before I returned to my dad. I guess it wouldn't hurt to make some friends. I wasn't going to be here for my most of my junior year at least.

"So did you make some friends?" He asked.

"It's a bit early to tell after one conversation." I pointed out.

A few days later, I went to school. I couldn't but wonder if there was anywhere that I could get some.

I looked in the courtyard and found a guy in a hoodie smoking a blunt. He noticed me and tried to get rid of it quickly.

"Don't stop on my account." I told him with a smile. "So what's your name? I'm Kaitlin."

"Jeremy." He replied. "So do you smoke?"

"Yeah, but I never seem to get high from it." I complained. "I've tried all kinds of stuff. Maybe it's just a sign I should stop doing it."

"You don't have to." He replied.

"Did you know that you're cute when you're stoned?" I asked him.

"You haven't seen me when I'm not." He pointed out.

"So have you ever kissed a girl before?" I asked him.

"No…" He answered before I cut him off with my lips. He was surprised, but at least he did kiss me back. "I guess I have now."

I went to the party and it was fine. I could get drunk. I definitely could get drunk, but I didn't because I had to drive home. A car was part of the deal I made with my dad. As I was driving home, I noticed that the bridge was out. That didn't look good. I then noticed on someone lying on the bank. It was Elena. She unconscious, but alive. I didn't know if I should call 911 or drive her to the hospital that I didn't know how to get to. Before anything could progress, I noticed Sheriff Forbes and she took it from there.

So the reason I don't have this marked as a crossover is because I think it would do better without it. I like the idea of Kaitlin and Jeremy and she might actually be the one who helps him quit drugs as ironic as it seems. Please don't forget to review.


	2. Pilot

It turned that Elena and Jeremy's parents' car went to the bottom of the lake and they had drown, but Elena had somehow got out. I don't know how. The weird thing was that it gave us something to bond over. Said accident also made me think of Marissa's death. I know that wasn't an accident, but she died in a car just the same. I also decided to quit smoking.

The summer eventually passed and I was preparing for the first day of my senior year. I really didn't spend much time with Jeremy. I know he hooked up with some new senior, who happened to be the older sister of Matt, Elena's ex-boyfriend who she broke up with after the accident.

I currently had my car parked outside of Elena's house as I waited for her to come out. Considering that I was right down the street from her, it made more sense for me to pick her up than Bonnie.

"So do you have any idea what I'm in for?" Elena asked.

"I was not in the situation that you're about to be in." I reminded her. "I went to boarding school the year before Marissa died. I didn't know anyone at Harbor."

"Thanks for being such a good friend for me." She replied. "It's nice to know that I have someone who has actually been through what I'm going through. Jeremy's basically shutting everyone out right now. So how did you get through it?"

"Well I had a lot of people helping me. I essentially had two not-blood related older sisters living with me and an older brother figure. So what I'm saying is let your friends help you through it." I suggested.

"Well maybe I'll meet some cute new guy that will help me get through it." She joked.

"Yeah, I tried that and he turned out to be gay." I responded. "I knew it from the moment that he wouldn't kiss me."

"Because obviously any guy that won't kiss you is gay." Elena quipped.

"I do think you should be looking for a new guy." I responded. "You and Matt were rocky before the accident and you have successfully skipped the rebound stage by waiting a few months and when you get with him, you need to tell me all of the details. We are going to have a kickass year. I know it."

We walked into the school where we met up with Bonnie.

"I'm so glad you're here. I really want to tell you about how my crazy Grams says I'm a witch." She declared.

"You can tell me all about it at lunch." Elena stated.

"So do you see the shower curtain on Kelly Beech? She looks like a…can I still say tranny mess?" Bonnie asked.

"No." I answered.

"So need to find a man and coin a phrase." Bonnie remarked. "Looks like it's gonna be a busy year."

We walked by the attendance office and happened to catch a guy with a very nice butt in a pair of jeans.

"Who is that?" Bonnie inquired.

"All I see is back." Elena declared.

"Yeah, but it's a very hot back." I commented.

At that time we saw Jeremy walk by looking glazed out of his mind. I really haven't seen him not stoned and I'm pretty sure that's a bad thing. Elena chased after him, even going into the men's room.

"So what's this about being a witch?" I asked Bonnie.

"Grams teaches a class at Whitmore about witchcraft and she says that I'm one too. I am kind of psychic. I predicted Obama."

"Well that's not hard. I think the younger guy always wins." I stated.

So when we got to History. I could see that the new guy had a cute face to go allow with his nice butt. I'm sure that there would be a competition among the girls of the school to see who could win his heart. I wasn't paying any attention what our teacher Mr. Tanner was saying. I was thinking I didn't want to be in a competition, but if I was, I was going to win. That's just how it is for me.

After school, I offered to give Elena a ride home, but she decided to go to the cemetery. I've been there. Well, not at the local cemetery, but I've been at the stage where I would go there on days. I went home and there was my dad to greet me.

"How was school?" He asked.

"It was pretty average." I answered. "I'm probably going to be at the Grill for dinner tonight. Are you gonna be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah." He answered. "I'm just happy that you made some friends. Your mom said that you didn't have many of those."

"I had friends. She just didn't like them." I declared as I looked out the window. "You know I miss being able to go in the pool every day."

"Why don't you join the swim team?" He suggested.

"Bathing caps and one-pieces aren't really my style." I told him.

That night I went to meet Bonnie and Caroline. Just after I arrived, I noticed Elena walk in with new guy. I guess she was in the lead.

"Stefan, these are my friends: Bonnie, Caroline, and Kaitlin." Elena introduced. I couldn't help but notice him staring at me. I wasn't going after him if Elena liked him. "This is Stefan Salvatore."

We all took a seat at a table.

"So you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked him.

"Yeah, I moved when I was little." He answered.

"Guess that makes me the only one who wasn't." I remarked. "I moved here from California a few months ago."

"So what about your parents?" Bonnie asked him.

"My parents are dead." Stefan answered. "I live with my uncle."

"I'm sorry." Elena said.

"Any siblings?" Caroline inquired. I guess that means that he has some, but doesn't talk to them.

"None that I talk to." Stefan replied.

"So, Stefan since you're new, you don't know about the party tomorrow night." Caroline replied. I hoped this party would go better than the last one.

"It's this back-to-school thing at the falls." Bonnie added.

"Are you going?" He asked Elena flirtatiously. Yeah, she is so winning.

"Of course she is." I replied.

The following day in class in class Mr. Tanner was being his regular douchebag self. He was talking about some irrelevant Civil War battle.

"Who can tell me how many people died? Miss Cooper?" He questioned.

"You should ask someone from here who cares about local history." I responded. He then said some pretty rude things to Elena. If I didn't think that I would be expelled, I would have got up and slapped him. Stefan managed to answer the question and also make a fool out of him at the same time. I approved of this.

That night, I went to the party. I smiled as Elena arrived. I don't know if I would get much time with her. I imagine that she'd want to hang out with Stefan. That wouldn't leave me with much. Maybe Jeremy wouldn't be high for once and I could talk to him.

"So have you seen Stefan yet?" I asked.

"No." She responded.

"Well then I guess you haven't looked behind you." I remarked as I spotted him. "I'll give you two some time alone"

I decided to walk around the party with a beer bottle in my hand. I decided that I wouldn't drive home so I could get drunk. I found Jeremy sitting over by the picnic tables.

"How's it going?" I asked. He didn't answer and I noticed him looking over to Vicki and Tyler Lockwood. Tyler was that jock that was a total asshole, kind of how my sister's ex-boyfriend Luke was before everyone found his dad was gay and he moved to Portland. I was friends with his brothers.

"Why do you care about her?" I asked. "She seems like she's kind of a slut."

"It's not something that you'd understand." He said as the two of them went out into the woods to make out. Jeremy got up and followed them. That was kind of perverted and stalkerish.

I sighed and walked across the grass to where Matt was standing. I noticed Elena and Stefan were on a bridge. I wondering if she was saying anything about me right now.

After a little while, Jeremy and Tyler came back but Vicki didn't. Jeremy went out again and Elena followed after him. A few minutes later, the two of them came out carrying Vicki's unconscious body. It looked like something bit her neck. Things got frantic in a hurry.

No POV

Stefan went home and ran upstairs. He happened to find someone in his room.

"Hello, Brother." The man greeted him.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked his brother.

"I couldn't miss your first day." His brother replied.

"It's been 15 years, Damon." Stefan pointed out.

"Thank God. That grunge look did not suit you." Damon responded.

"Why are you here?" Stefan repeated.

"I could ask you the same thing but I know the answer: Elena. She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Of course she's not the only one. Kaitlin is also a spitting image of Clara."

Kaitlin's POV

Some paramedics arrived on the scene and took Vicki, as well as Matt to the hospital. The cops also showed up and made sure to get rid of the bottle I had been holding. I decided to see if Jeremy was okay. He looked pretty shaken. I also wanted to see if Elena was. It seemed like they were.

I then went to the Grill with Caroline and Bonnie. Caroline was basically bawling from being rejected by Stefan. It probably had something to do with her being drunk.

"Are you going to be okay?" Bonnie asked her.

"Yeah." Caroline answered.

After Bonnie left, the two of us noticed a very hot guy across the restaurant. He was definitely older, but I liked older men. He smiled at us.

"I call dibs." Caroline and I both said at the same time. Although before we could even decide, he was gone.

So I decided on a love triangle between Jeremy, Kaitlin, and Damon. Kaitlin liking Damon would be perfectly in canon for her. Also Kaitlin is a doppelganger but is she related to Elena? Also Marissa will appear as a vampire at some point, but I haven't decided when. Please don't forget to review.


	3. Night of the Comet

I went to pick up Elena to give her a ride to school in the morning. I think she would be driving soon, but it can't be easy to get behind the wheel after everything. I wasn't even near the car, but it took me a few months before I wanted lessons.

I knocked on the door and it was answered by Elena's aunt Jenna.

"Hey, Kaitlin, Elena's almost ready." She told me. "Do you think that I look adult today?"

Her hair was up and she was dressed in a blazer and long skirt. She looked like an adult.

"Yeah, but why are you trying to look adult?" I asked.

"I have a parent-teacher conference with Jeremy's history teacher." She explained as I noticed Elena coming down the stairs.

"Well, have fun." I told her as the two of us went to my car. "She's not going to have fun."

"That's pretty much a given for anyone who has to be in Tanner's presence." Elena agreed.

"You're in a good mood today." I noted. "Is it because you hooked up with Stefan last night? I saw him leaving your house this morning."

"We didn't hook up." Elena replied. "We just stayed and talked for hours without really going into any personal stuff."

"So they are you in a good mood because you're hopped up on Red Bulls because you didn't get much sleep?" I asked as she rolled her eyes.

"So what did you do after the party?" She inquired.

"I went to the Grill with Caroline and Bonnie and we happened to see this super-hot guy." I explained. "I didn't get his name or number, but he was amazing."

"What did he look like?" Elena asked curiously.

"He was this older guy, with long, but not too long dark hair, and a little bit of stubble. I only saw him for like three seconds before he disappeared." I explained.

"I'll start making wedding invites." Elena quipped. "Kaitlin Cooper and Mystery Guy."

"Okay now it's kind of annoying." I admitted as I parked at the school. We got out of the car and I couldn't help but notice Stefan was looking at Elena and so was Matt. I looked in the stoner pit and I didn't happen to see Jeremy. "Do you know where Jeremy is?"

"I'm pretty sure that he went to the hospital to see Vicki." Elena said.

"You should talk to him." I suggested, looking at Stefan.

"I will after class." She promised. Right now, she just smiled at him. That smiling eventually turned into eye sex in the classroom as Tanner talked about some comet that was apparently a big deal around here. I was still getting used to this small town. I mean Newport wasn't a big town, but Mystic Falls had a population of about 500 and I used to live right near the beach.

"Are we bothering you Mr. Salvatore, Ms. Gilbert?" Tanner asked. I couldn't help but giggle at that. They were hot for each other.

After school, we met at the Grill and were eating outside. I guess you could call it a late lunch since public school lunches were crap. Elena was talking about her night with Stefan and Bonnie was talking about her crazy grandma.

"So my Grams says that the comet is a harbinger of doom." Bonnie explained. "The last time it was here, there was a lot of death."

"Yeah, it's not like a war was going on or anything." I quipped.

"And then you poured Grams another shot." Caroline added disinterestedly. "So then what happened?"

"Then nothing, we just talked." Elena replied.

"You just talked all night? No ill-advised hookup or sloppy first kiss or even a handshake?" The blonde asked in disbelief.

"That's what she says." I confirmed.

"Elena we're your friends. You're supposed to share the smut with us." Caroline stated.

"There was no smut, we just talked." Elena repeated.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Caroline asked. "Jump his bones already. It's simple. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy: sex."

"Profound." I commented before I noticed Elena getting up. "Where are you going?"

"Caroline's right. It is easy." She stated. "I don't want to talk myself out of it."

As she walked away, I noticed that she left before paying her share of the bill. I wouldn't stand for this. I put some money on the table.

"Where are _you_ going?" Caroline asked.

"I'm following her to make sure that she pays her share of the bill." I stated before I got in my car and drove to the Salvatore Boarding house. It looked really old. I saw Elena knocking on the door, which pushed open. I watched her walk right in. I know I heard about open doors in the South, but I didn't think I would actually see it. I also couldn't believe Elena would just walk in. I sighed and locked my car and went in after her.

"Elena, what are you doing?" I asked. "You can't just barge into someone's home invited."

That's how I was taught as a kid.

"Well you did the same thing." She pointed out.

"I only did it to get you out." I argued as suddenly a crow flew in through the open window. Also suddenly, we found ourselves face-to-face with the hottie from last night. Wow, this was incredible luck. "I'm sorry that we barged in."

"You must be Elena, and who might you be?" He asked me.

"K…Kaitlin." I stammered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." The man answered.

"He didn't say that he had a brother." Elena remarked.

"He said that he didn't have any siblings that he talked to." I reminded her.

"Stefan's not exactly one to brag." Damon replied. "Please come. I'm sure Stefan will be along in a minute."

"You should probably close your doors and windows." I told him, hoping he wouldn't think that was weird. "I'm pretty sure that there's a bird flying around somewhere in this house."

We looked around the house and I felt like I was in one of those restaurants with all of the stuff hanging on the walls.

"This is amazing." Elena stated.

"It's a bit kitschy for my taste." Damon admitted. He looked over Elena. "I can see why my brother is so smitten. Of course that's not to say you're the only pretty girl in the room."

I blushed. He thought I was pretty.

"It's about time if you ask me. I thought he'd never get over the last one." Damon replied. This seemed like it would be interesting.

"Last one?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, Katherine." Damon answered. Elena looked at him blankly. "Oh, you two haven't had the whole awkward exes chat yet."

"Nope." Elena confirmed.

"Well maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound." Damon explained.

"You say it like you think everything relationship is doomed from the start." I mentioned.

"Well, I'm a fatalist." Damon replied. Well, maybe he would be good for a lay at least. "Hello Stefan."

We looked and saw Stefan standing by the entrance to the parlor. When did he get here?

"Elena, Kaitlin." He greeted us coldly. "I didn't know you two were coming over."

"Sorry for just barging in." I apologized.

"Nonsense, you two are welcome any time." Damon replied.

"Thank you for stopping by." Stefan remarked. That was code for 'Please leave.' I grabbed Elena's hand and pulled her out the door.

"So that was the guy I was talking about." I remarked.

"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?" Elena asked.

"You still have to pay your part of the tab for the Grill." I pointed out. "Do you think your aunt will mind if I invite my dad over?"

"No, Jenna likes your dad." She replied.

Later that night, I was helping Jenna and Elena make dinner. My dad would be there soon.

"He's on the rebound and he has raging family issues." Elena told Jenna. I don't think that she was ready to give up on Stefan. I wouldn't. I wonder if she'd mind me dating him if they break up…if they're even together.

"At least it's family issues. Wait until you date a guy with mommy issues, or cheating issues, or amphetamine issues." Jenna replied. As if on cue, Jeremy walked in. It was kind of creepy.

"Dinner's almost ready." Jenna told him.

"No thanks I've already ate." Jeremy replied.

"You need to stop ditching class." Jenna ordered.

"Parental authority, I like it." Jeremy responded. Jenna grabbed an apple and threw it at him

"Ow, why? Why did you do that?" He asked before he went upstairs.

"Maybe I could talk to him." I suggested. "I mean I really know what he's going through because I've used drugs and I have lost someone that I was very close to."

I went up the stairs to his room and knocked on the door.

"I don't wanna talk." He replied.

"What if it's with me?" I asked as I walked inside. "Look Jeremy, you want to know why I stopped smoking?"

"You said it didn't do anything for you." He reminded me.

"Okay, that's true, but eventually I had to move on and I realized that I couldn't be the same person that I used to be. I decided that I wanted to be good after getting kicked out of school. Trust me. At the rate you're going, it's going to happen to you. I've done everything there is to act out that there is. When my parents first got divorced, I got sent to boarding school and while I was there, my mom lost all of her money. I had to steal some money from a frat party just to get a cab home. I'm not saying that your life isn't hard, but you're not the only one who's suffered. Can you tell me why you were skipping class?"

"I went to see Vicki at the hospital." He replied before I went down to eat.

The next night was the festival for the comet. I really didn't care about some stupid comet. Maybe Damon would be there and I could hook up with him.

At some point Matt ended up losing track of his sister. Eventually Stefan ended up finding her, but I couldn't help but think that I could sympathize with Matt more than I could with Jeremy. Vicki seemed like she was a lot like Marissa (except for the whole dating a girl thing, which I still can't be sure if that really happened)

I was once again with Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill.

"Ugh, the druggies are so much drama." Caroline remarked. I couldn't argue with that. I probably should have been offended by it, but I couldn't really be and I was tired.

"You know Vicki really reminds me of my older sister." I explained. "She was someone who drank a lot and trouble seemed to always follow her around, right until the end. If Vicki is like her, she probably just has made a lot of bad choices. I nearly lost Marissa 4 years ago when she OD'ed in Tijuana. Maybe Vicki will be able to turn her life around."

"Who knows?" Bonnie said.

"You're the one who is supposed to be psychic." I reminded her.

"It's too late for any of this psychic stuff." Bonnie replied. "I think that we should probably get going."

I went home to find that my dad was still up. I had something that I was wondering that I wanted to ask him.

"Dad, do you think that we would have been able to save Marissa if we managed to keep our family together?" I asked.

"I don't know." Dad told me. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Because that girl that was attacked by the animal, Vicki Donovan, from what I hear, she's a lot like Marissa was, minus the bi-curious thing, I mean neither of her parents are around and I can't help but wonder if our broken family led to her death."

"It's hard to say." He declared. "Marissa did have a lot of issues before your mother and I got divorced. I can't fix my mistakes with her, but I can be a good parent for you."

"I love you, Daddy." I told him.

So, I just realized how similar Vicki and Marissa were, which is ironic because their moms were played by the same actress. Speaking of which, I don't think Kelly will appear in this story. Also Jeremy and Kaitlin had a talk that didn't lead to much. Please don't forget to review.


	4. Friday Night Bites

"Mom, I have to go to school." I said into my phone. I didn't talk to her every day, but she did keep me filled in on things that were happening. Basically, she got back with Frank. The baby wasn't born yet. I'm not entirely sure how far along she was. "I have to go pick up Elena."

"Who's Elena again?" My mom asked.

"She's the one who lost her parent with the cute younger brother." I explained. "I'm hanging up now."

"I love you." She told me.

"I love you too." I reciprocated before pressing the end button. I then went to grab my brown leather jacket. I paired it a black tunic and grey leggings. I saw Dad was in his suit. I gave him a hug. "Bye."

I went to my car and drove down the street to see Bonnie's car were there.

"You gonna take her?" I asked the 'witch'.

"I really need to talk to her." Bonnie explained. "See you at school."

I guess that meant that I was going to be driving by myself. I couldn't help but wonder where Caroline was.

I got to school shortly before they did. We began to walk toward the building together.

"I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying that you should take it slow." Bonnie said.

"Did I miss something?" I asked. "Yesterday you were urging Elena to go for it."

"And now I'm saying take it slow." Bonnie stated. "You're single for the first time in your high school career. You should play the field."

"Because I'm so that girl." Elena quipped. "Seriously, what's up?"

"I touched Stefan yesterday and I got a really bad feeling." Bonnie answered as we stood in the courtyard.

"That's it?" I asked.

"It was bad bad." Bonnie replied. I wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"Hey." Stefan said as he walked over. He gave Elena a kiss.

"I need to go find Caroline." Bonnie declared as she hastily walked away.

"She doesn't like me very much." Stefan noted.

"She doesn't know you." Elena argued. "I'm sure that when she does, she'll love you as much as I do."

"Hey, I have an idea." I suggested as I noticed some of the jocks throwing a ball around. "How about you two and Bonnie come over to my house tonight and we can have dinner and get to know each other?"

"I like it." Stefan declared. "It sounds fun."

Suddenly, the ball flew our way right at Stefan. Stefan quickly turned around and caught it. My jaw dropped. How did he do that? He then threw it back to Tyler, who didn't seem ready for it and dropped it.

I then walked into the school with the two of them. You know being the third wheel kind of sucks.

"That throw was amazing." Elena gushed. "You should try out for the team."

"I don't think so." Stefan replied. "I like football, but I don't think that football likes me. You saw Tyler and we know how Matt feels."

"You're mysterious loner guy to them." Elena responded as we walked into Tanner's class.

Once we got into class, Tanner was asking for dates, which no one seemed to get. Maybe the public school system is just that bad, because I knew all of them. I was in no way a bad student. I wasn't going to say anything unless he called on me.

"Miss Gilbert?" He asked. Elena hadn't been paying attention. "Pearl Harbor."

"Umm…" Elena responded, not knowing the answer. I couldn't but wonder if she needed me to tutor her.

"December 7, 1941." Stefan answered.

"Thank you, _Miss Gilbert._" Tanner quipped. Much of the class left.

That set up another Tanner vs. Stefan showdown. It ended with the Korean War.

"1950-1953." Stefan answered.

"Ha! It ended in 52." Tanner replied.

"Actually, Sir, it was 53." Stefan argued.

"Someone look it up." Tanner ordered.

"It was 53." I chimed in. Taylor taught me that. She tried teaching me Korean, but I wasn't interested. At that point, the bell rang.

Later, I went to cheerleading practice. Bonnie was the one that had convinced me to join. It involved wearing tank tops and short shorts. I didn't know if Elena was going to be there.

Bonnie was ecstatic when she showed up and gave her a tight hug.

"I can't be sad girl forever." Elena declared as we started to stretch.

"By the way, you're coming over to dinner at my house tonight." I told Bonnie.

"I am?" She responded.

"Yes, you, me, Elena and Stefan." I told her.

"Tonight's no good." Bonnie declared, trying to get out of it.

"Bonnie, I need you to give him a chance." Elena remarked. I still don't get this 180 that she made.

"Has anyone seen Caroline?" Bonnie asked, as I noticed our captain was late.

"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett." Elena ordered.

"Fine, I'll go." Bonnie pouted before she looked at me. "When I am coming?"

"Whenever you want." I quipped as Bonnie blushed. "Dirty jokes aside, be there at 7:00."

"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Bonnie asked again.

At that point, Damon pulled up in a convertible with Caroline in the passenger side. She kissed him. That bitch, when did she hook up with him? She was wearing this scarf on her neck for some reason. I then noticed Damon waving at me. I waved back before he drove off.

"Sorry, I'm late, girls. I was…busy." Caroline stated. "Let's get started with the double pike perky hurdler."

I don't know why our cheers sounded like overcomplicated football plays. We began to run the routine.

"Elena, Sweetie, why don't you just observe today." Caroline remarked. Yeah, she could really be a bitch sometimes. I don't know if she knew she was to be honest.

My dad was going to be working late tonight, so it made the dinner plan even easier. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that I had no idea what I was going to do for dinner. Thankfully, Elena remedied that by bringing some pasta. I decided to put it in a bowl to make it look like I made it.

"I don't think that's going to fool anyone." Bonnie replied.

"Shut up." I declared as I heard the doorbell. I went to get it and there was Stefan. "Hey, come in."

Stefan then walked in. It was too bad that he was Elena's boyfriend. Well Damon was hotter anyway…even though Caroline had apparently claimed him. I was not very lucky with these Salvatore guys. At that point, I served up the food and we headed to the table. It was surprisingly quiet.

"So did Tanner let you on the team?" I asked since I was the hostess.

"Yes, I think I impressed him." Stefan replied.

"Bonnie, you should have seen it." Elena responded. "Tyler threw a ball…"

"I heard." Bonnie interrupted.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena suggested.

"Divorced, no mom." Bonnie answered. I'm pretty sure that wasn't what she meant.

"No, the witches." I told her. "Bonnie's family is descended from witches. It's cool."

"Cool isn't the word I would use to describe it." Bonnie argued.

"Well, it's certainly interesting." Stefan opined. "I'm not too well versed, but I know that there were some Celtic druids that migrated to this area in the 1800s."

"My family's from Salem." Bonnie explained as I took a sip of my drink.

"Salem witches, huh?" Stefan responded. "That is pretty cool."

"How so?" Bonnie asked, seemingly intrigued.

"Because Salem witches were the first rebels." I explained. "There were nonconformists and would rather die that admit to ludicrous accusations."

"I guess they are." Bonnie agreed.

"You know you seem more intelligent than you let on." Stefan commented.

"I lived with one of the smartest girls in the world last year. I'm still not quite sure why we took her in, but she taught me a lot, and I guess private school education is better. I just don't like to flaunt it." I told him before the doorbell rang again. Who could that be?

I went to the door.

"Surprise!" Caroline said. She was holding some kind of cake and had Damon next to her. "Bonnie said that you were having dinner, so we brought dessert."

Caroline then stepped in, but Damon just stood there. At that point, Stefan walked over.

"What are you doing?" The younger Salvatore asked.

"Waiting for Kaitlin to invite me in." Damon stated. I guess he was a gentleman.

"Sure you can come…" I started.

"No!" Stefan interrupted. "He can't stay. Can you Damon?"

"Get in here." Caroline ordered.

"It's okay." I remarked. "Come in."

"You have a lovely home, Kaitlin." He told me.

"I'll make sure to tell my dad that." I declared.

After dessert, we all sat in the living room.

"I cannot believe Tanner let you on the team." Caroline gabbed. "Tyler must be pissed. Elena wasn't lucky. I don't know how she'll ever learn the routine."

"I'll teach her." I remarked in annoyance, as Caroline pondered putting her in the back.

"You know you don't strike me as the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon commented.

"It's only because she missed summer camp." Caroline declared. "She used to be way more fun but she's going through a blah phase right now because her parents died…ow!"

I had elbowed her.

"And I say that with utmost sensitivity." She added. It was a bit late for that.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Damon declared. "Stefan and I have watched just about everyone we've ever cared about die."

"We don't need to go into that, Damon." Stefan told him.

"You're right Stefan." Damon responded. "The last thing we need to do is bring them up."

Later, Elena and I were doing dishes and Damon decided to help. Damon was cleaning a cup before he dropped it, but managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

"Thank God. My dad would have killed me if I broke anything." I remarked.

"So were you talking about Katherine earlier?" Elena asked

"Yes, her and my fiancée Clara." Damon replied. I didn't know that he had a fiancée.

"How did they die?" I asked curiously.

"Fire, it was very tragic." Damon answered.

"I'm sorry." I told him. "When you lose someone it stays with you."

"Who did you lose?" Damon asked, curiously.

"My older sister, Marissa." I answered. "Some guy who ran her off the road. He's in prison now."

"I'm sorry." He told me.

That night, I ended up having a really weird dream about Damon. I don't know why it happened. I then closed my window, but it was kind of cold.

In the morning, I showered and changed into my cheerleading uniform. It was a maroon with black lining.

When I got to school, I noticed Elena wasn't in hers. She was with Stefan who was in his jersey.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I quit. I'm a quitter." Elena responded.

"Caroline is going to be pissed." I told her.

"Kaitlin, I'm glad you're here." Stefan replied as he took on a necklace with a red jewel in the pendant. "I got Elena this bracelet and I also found this necklace, thinking that you might like it."

"Thank you." I told him. It was a little weird that he gave me a gift, but I decided to go with it. I noticed an interesting smell coming from it. "Is that rose?"

"It's an herb called vervain." Stefan explained.

After school, I was with the other cheerleaders as we stood by the stage with pompoms in our hands. Tanner was giving a speech. You know he was actually a good football coach. Maybe they couldn't just hire him to be a coach and he had to teach as well. He was praising Stefan's pass-catching abilities.

I then heard signs of a struggle and noticed that Tyler was fighting with Jeremy. I don't get what their beef was. I guess it was because both liked Vicki. Tyler was winning. Stefan went over and stopped it.

Jeremy ended up grabbing a piece of glass and swung and Tyler, but hit Stefan instead. I went over and kicked Tyler in the shin. I don't know why I was so angry. I then noticed Elena who was tending to her bloodied brother.

"I've got some tissues in my car." I declared. "I'll go get them."

I went to retrieve the Kleenexes from the parking lot. As I was preparing to go back, I found Damon was in the parking lot for some reason.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I'm hiding from Caroline." He replied. "She talks more than I can listen."

"Maybe that's a sign you shouldn't be together." I remarked. I may have liked him, but I would never steal a friend's boyfriend.

"Maybe, she's awfully young." He stated.

"She's not much younger than you." I pointed out.

"I don't see it working out in the long run." He declared. "She's really annoying."

"Now, hold up. Caroline may have some annoying and bitchy traits, but she's my friend and I don't want to hear you talk about her like that." I told him.

"Forgive me. That's not my intention." He replied. I could tell that was a load of bull.

"Yes it is." I argued. "It's totally your intention."

"Maybe it is." He said as he walked closer to me and looked me in the eye. "You want to kiss me."

He leaned in and I kneed him in his manly parts.

"I don't know what's going on with you and Caroline, but she is my friend and leave me out of it."

I went back to field and prepared for the game. I guess Stefan was going to be okay to play. I don't know how he would be able to catch like that.

Before the game started, Matt ended up finding a body in the parking lot. It wasn't just anybody though. It was Mr. Tanner. Something had bit his neck. I couldn't believe it. Even though, I didn't like the guy, I didn't want him to die.

"It's going to be okay." My dad told me as we prepared to go home. "It's going to be okay."

"What kind of animal is doing this?" I asked him with tears in my eyes "What kind of animal just comes out of the woods like this?"

"I don't know." He replied.

So, I've changed my mind on this. It's going to be fully Kaitlin/Damon. I've never done anything like this before. I also have something else planned besides her being a doppelganger. Please don't forget to review.


	5. Family Ties

It was Saturday. I went downstairs to find that my dad has the news on. I guess the reason I wasn't as upset as before was because I didn't know the people that were killed. Even Matt's sister I didn't really know despite the fact that she survived. Mr. Tanner was someone that I knew. I didn't like him, but I definitely didn't want him to die. I did want to see him beaten, but not dead.

"So it looks like they caught the animal that killed your teacher." Dad told me. I turned to the TV to see Sheriff Forbes.

"I can confirm that a 12-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed." She told the reporter. "The hunter is in stable condition."

"You know puma mountain lion is redundant." I pointed out.

"The important thing is it's dead and it can't kill anyone else." Dad replied.

"I still don't understand how a mountain lion would be able to walk through town without anyone seeing it and kill Mr. Tanner in the school parking lot.

"Maybe it's because everyone was in the stadium and nobody was in the parking lot." He suggested. I still don't know if I bought it. "So we've been invited to this Founder's Party at the Lockwoods' tomorrow."

"It's just like Newport." I commented.

"I'm pretty sure that no one is going to hit me." He replied with a laugh. I guess it was kind of funny now though it must have been really embarrassing at the time, especially since it was Marissa's cotillion. I guess I wasn't upset that I didn't have a cotillion. I mean who really wants to be on display for everyone to see? "You do need to make sure to wear a nice dress to it, though."

"It would be nice if I had a date to this." I remarked. I then realized that there was a possibility of him trying to set me up "But I don't want a date for the sake of having one. Anyway, I'm going to be gone today. I just need to take a shower first."

"The shower isn't working all that well right now." He told me. I was a little annoyed by that. "I can't get a plumber here until Monday."

"I'm going to Elena's to see if Jenna will let me use their shower then." I declared. "Are we having money problems?"

"No, it probably just needs to be upgraded." Dad explained. "I assure you that we are doing fine financially."

At that point, I walked down the street and rang the door at the Gilbert house. It was answered by Jeremy.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. I began to wonder if it was a good idea for me to step out in my pajamas.

"My shower isn't working right now, so I was wondering if I could talk to Jenna about using yours." I told him.

"Sure." He replied as I stepped inside. "You should probably ask Elena if you can borrow some of her clothes."

I went upstairs and opened her door without knocking to find that she was making out with Stefan on her bed.

"I'm sorry." I apologized as they both stared at me. "Hi. I need to use your shower and Jeremy suggested that I ask if I can borrow some clothes."

Elena went into her dresser and gave me a blue tee and denim miniskirt to wear.

"Thank you and I'm sorry." I replied.

After I was done showering, I noticed that Stefan was gone. I hoped it wasn't my fault.

"Where Stefan go?" I asked her.

"He had to go." She replied. "But we are going to the Founder's Party together."

"I guess I'll see you there." I remarked. "My dad said that we were invited."

"Well there's this heritage exhibit this year, so you can learn all about the founding families." She replied.

"I don't know if I want to." I responded. "Do you think your brother would be interested in going with me?"

"I'm pretty sure that Jeremy wasn't interested in going with anyone." She answered. "Bonnie's going to be there, so you two can go as singles."

"You know you and Caroline are so lucky. You both have hot boyfriends that you can go with." I stated.

"Why don't you ask Matt?" Elena suggested.

"I don't really like him." I replied. "He's not really my type."

"What is your type?" Elena asked with a laugh.

"I prefer older guys with experience." I explained. "I mean who wants to sleep with a virgin."

"Matt's not a virgin." She pointed out. I guess that she would know that.

"He's still not my type." I responded. "I like Damon, but he seems like an ass because he tried to kiss me last night."

"He did?" Elena asked in surprise. "Did you like it?"

"No, he didn't even kiss and I didn't like it." I declared. "He's Caroline's boyfriend and I'm not going to help him cheat on her."

"We should tell Caroline about it." Elena suggested.

"I'm not sure if that will help." I replied. "I don't know if Caroline would believe me even or maybe she'd get mad at me and above all, I don't want to hurt her."

The next day, Bonnie and I were having lunch with her. We were going to get ready together later. Bonnie was holding two bottle of nail polish.

"Delicate Flower or Naughty Vixen?" She asked Elena.

"How about Delicate Vixen?" I suggested.

"I like Naughty Flower better." Elena replied. That sounded pretty dirty.

"Look at you getting all pretty for your date." Bonnie teased. "You seem happyish."

"I am-ish." Elena declared as she came to the table. That sounds kind of like Amish. "I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night."

"Don't tell me that you like the Black-Eyed Peas." I responded with a smile. "I may have to reconsider this friendship now that I know that."

"So what did you need to tell us?" Elena asked Bonnie, giggling slightly.

"How about I tell you two in the morning?" Bonnie suggested. "I don't want to ruin the night."

"Come on. Spit it out." I ordered.

"Okay, but Caroline will kill me for telling you two if you say anything." Bonnie declared. "Apparently Stefan stole Katherine from him before he ended up dating Clara."

"I don't know if I believe that." I replied. "All of that doesn't sound like stuff Stefan would do and also I don't know if I can trust anything Damon says after Friday night."

"Stefan's past relationships aren't really my business." Elena added.

"It is if Stefan's a liar." Bonnie remarked as she began to paint her nails. I glared at her.

"Stefan is not a liar." Elena argued defensively.

"How do you know?" Bonnie asked.

"Okay, enough of this." I interrupted. "We are not going to talk about it anymore, especially if we don't even know Stefan's side of the story. Just because we don't know a lot about him doesn't mean that he's a creep. I have experience with this. When I was younger, my neighbors took in this guy from the wrong side of the tracks. I thought he was a total punk at first, partially because he was dating my sister, but I eventually found out that he was a good guy that cared for people."

A little later, we were getting ready together. Elena's phone rang and she angrily went to Jeremy's room. She returned a few minutes with this old pocket watch. I don't know what any of that was.

"So should I wear this necklace?" I asked, holding it up.

"Stefan gave it to you." Elena declared. "I think he wants to be friends with you and it looks kind of old. Also, I think it would look great with your outfit."

"It looks great with everything." Bonnie added.

I then changed into my dress. It was floral, but also had the effect that the sun was shining on them. My hair was in an updo and curled slightly. I actually decided that I would go with my dad. I mean it was party being thrown by adults, not the prom. There was nothing wrong with me going with him.

There was a long line when we got there. I guess there would be a lot of people there. It looked like the whole town was there. It was the first time that I had ever been the Lockwoods'. They had a pond with ducks in it. It was a lot more like the homes I grew up in, not that what I have now sucks. Anything beats a trailer.

Finally we managed to get in and I went to hang out with Elena and Stefan. Just because I came with my dad doesn't mean that I don't like spending time with people my age. I did happen to notice Damon looking hot, but he was with Caroline. I decided to look around the exhibit with them. There was a lot of stuff from the Civil War era when the town was founded. Elena seemed to be looking in front of her family's exhibit.

"Were those your parents'?" I asked referring to the rings.

"There's a lot of history here." She nodded. "Hey they have the original registry from the first Founder's Party. Looks at all of these familiar names: Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood…"

"Is that Damon Salvatore?" I asked. "And Stefan Salvatore?"

"The original Salvatore brothers: our ancestors." Damon remarked as I looked to see him with Caroline. "It's a fascinating story actually."

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan remarked.

"It's not boring. I'd love to hear about your family history." Elena replied. I guess I wouldn't mind.

"Well I'm bored." Caroline stated. "I wanna dance and Damon won't dance with me. Do you mind if I borrow your date?"

"I guess it's up to Stefan." Elena responded.

"I don't really dance either." Stefan told her.

"Well I'm not going to take no for an answer." Caroline declared as she dragged Stefan away. I have to admit that was kind of funny.

"I want to apologize for the other night." He said to me. "I was a jerk and I'm sorry about it. There's no excuse for me trying to kiss you. Your response was perfectly justified. My therapist thinks a lot of my issues come from fighting with Stefan."

"About what?" I asked.

"It's all in the past." Damon declared. I wasn't sure if I believed him or not. "I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have a long history of sibling rivalry and it all started with those guys. The Salvatore named was practically royalty in this town, until the war that is. There was a battle here."

"The Battle of Willow Creek." Elena interrupted. "We heard about that in class. Confederates fired on a church."

"What the history books don't say is that the people in the church weren't there by accident." Damon explained. "They were believed to be Union sympathizers and were sentenced to death. Stefan and Damon had people that they loved in there and when they went to rescue them, they were shot dead."

"That sounds harsh." I commented. I guess I would learn a lot more about Southern history here. In California, the South was rarely portrayed in a good light, even though Newport was actually farther south than Mystic Falls.

"Who did they want to save?" Elena asked.

"Two women, doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" Damon responded.

"Look Damon, I'm sorry for whatever issues you have with Stefan, but I think it would be best if you leave me and Kaitlin out of it." Elena stated, speaking for both of us apparently. "I hope you two work will be able to work it out."

"I hope so too." Damon remarked.

After that, we went outside to find Stefan and Caroline.

"What did we miss?" Damon asked.

"We were just chatting." Stefan replied as I noticed they had drinks in their hands. Did no one see that or did they just not care? "Drink Damon?"

"No thanks, I'll pass." Damon declared.

"I'll take it." I offered.

"Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" Elena requested.

"Absolutely." Her boyfriend answered as he took her to the dance floor.

"They look so cute together." Caroline commented as I noticed this strange rose choker that she was wearing.

"Don't talk." Damon told her. He still seems like an ass. Caroline sipped her champagne and I decided to as well. I was jealous, not so much of them, but that I didn't have anyone to dance with. I didn't even like to dance, but I wanted to.

I went inside and not long after did Elena also come in. She looked angry.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Stefan and I had a fight." She explained. "He wouldn't tell me anything about Katherine."

That led to the two of us eating some cake with Bonnie in of the rooms.

"This is my fault." Bonnie remarked. "I'm a doubt-planter."

"I think it's Stefan's fault." I declared.

"I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it and that's exactly what I did." Elena replied. I guess it was her fault then. "And I got all snotty too."

"Elena honey, there you are." Mrs. Lockwood declared. Why didn't she bring it?

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood, I couldn't find it." Elena lied. "I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere."

"Well please let me know if you do find it." The woman responded before she walked away.

From there, Elena and I went into the bathroom to fix our makeup. I needed to find my dad soon so we could go home. Caroline was also there.

"So how are things with Stefan?" She asked.

"Great." Elena responded.

"Well my radar must be off because I was getting sorts of other vibes." Caroline declared as she leaned over to touch up her lips. It was at that point, that I noticed a mark underneath her netted cardigan.

"What is that?" I asked as I tried to move it, but she swatted my hand away.

Elena then raised her choker to see a mark on her neck. It looked someone bit her. Was it Damon?

"Oh my god, Caroline, what is that?" She asked.

"It's nothing, okay." The blonde responded.

"That is not nothing." I argued.

"Did somebody hurt you?" Elena questioned. "Was it Damon?"

I then removed the cardigan to reveal another mark.

"No, of course not." Caroline denied. Okay, now he has moved past ass. "Both of you leave me alone!"

She then stormed out of the bathroom.

"You find Stefan. I'm going to go give Damon a piece of my mind." I instructed.

I found him downstairs on the deck. The first that I did was push him back.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked him. "You need to stay away from Caroline, or I'll tell her mother, the sheriff."

I then punched him in the face.

At that point, I went to my dad.

"I'm ready to go." I told him.

"I need to stay a little longer." He told me. "How about you head on home and I'll meet you there?"

"I might go straight to bed." I told him. "If I do, I'll see you in the morning."

All I knew was that I definitely didn't want to be with Damon now.

If you didn't guess, Jimmy is on the council. That might cause problems in the future, but Kaitlin isn't going to become a vampire anytime soon. She probably won't get with Damon soon either. Please don't forget to review.


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